Last Monday, I had the privilege to
continue my service learning at Northeast Middle with such enthusiastic, joyful
children. I was able to assist the young
girls and boys do some arts and crafts that taught them the valuable lessons of
dealing with conflicts by trying to find good resolutions to solve them. After arts and crafts, it was time for the
students to start their homework, and I thoroughly enjoyed helping them with
their history homework because that is my intended major for college. I appreciate how cooperative and kind these
children are, and I always make it my priority to treat them with respect and
kindness, so that they know that they can ask me for assistance in anything with
which they have difficulty. This whole
experience has been completely rewarding for me, and it further exemplifies how
I strongly desire to become a teacher and make an impact on so many
people.
The
play Twelfth Night by Shakespeare coincides
with my service learning with respect to the fact that I should never pretend
to be someone or something else that I am not.
For me honesty must always be the best policy because I should always be
truthful towards the students with whom I interact. In contrast, two characters in this
Shakespearean play chose to live their lives with constant lying and deceit. Viola and Malvolio chose to go down
precarious paths that caused complete chaos and confusion when they disguised
themselves from their true, distinct identities. Viola had just survived a shipwreck when she
finally arrived at Illyria. She doesn’t
know what to do with her life, so she finally decides to disguise herself and
her social status in order to serve the noblewoman Olivia, but after learning
that Olivia isn’t seeing any visitors, she decides to work for Duke Orsino as
his servant by disguising herself as a male.
Immediately, Viola who now is referred to as Cesario, her male
counterpart, earns a trusted position in the Duke’s heart, and has to try to persuade
Olivia to finally accept the Duke’s endless pursuits. She proves her loyalty and genuine love
because Viola is actually in love with the Duke herself, yet she is still
willing to do this favor for him. After
meeting with Olivia, Viola recognizes that Olivia is in love with her much to
her chagrin.
To
contribute to the chaos, Viola’s twin brother Sebastian, who was also
shipwrecked on the same ship as Viola, arrives at Illyria and finds himself at
Olivia’s house where he is mistaken for Cesario. Olivia proposes to him, and Sebastian obliges
because her beauty enraptures him. When
Viola comes to Olivia’s with the Duke, Sebastian shows up and every character
is astonished by their similarities.
Viola confesses her identity, and the Duke proposes to her. Even though Viola ended up fine from her lies
and deceit, the trouble she caused was unfair for the other characters in the
play. Malvolio also used a disguise, but
with a cruel, unkind agenda. He is an
uptight steward from Olivia’s house, and through scolding Maria, Olivia’s maid,
about not keeping Olivia’s drunk uncle in check, he is deceived with a letter forged
by Maria that he thinks is written by Olivia.
This letter tells him that he must wear a crazy outfit, be rude to
everyone, and smile constantly, which are all things that Olivia detests, all
this in order to gain her adoration. The
motivation for Malvolio is completely for greed and the power attained by
marrying Olivia. He is willing to
distort himself to pursue his own desires, while not caring about how he
presents himself to others.
After
reading Twelfth Night, I have seen
how putting on a disguise and straying away from your own identity can cause
conflicts to arise. It is imperative
that I stay true to myself regardless of any circumstances or opinions from
others. By becoming a teacher, I will
have to show that I consistently maintain my identity despite influences in
today’s society. My students must learn
to be honest with themselves and those they interact with because deceiving
others for personal gains can lead to negative outcomes and issues in the
future. The most surprising and
interesting thing I learned in connection with this class was how the movie
She’s the Man was loosely based on this play.
I was enabled to make the characters come to life from watching the
movie.
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